Swisscom cleared for €8bn Vodafone acquisition

Swisscom, in a statement, confirmed it has received clearance for the acquisition of Vodafone Italia from both the Italian Competition Authority (Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato) and the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy (MIMIT).

"This paves the way to the creation of a leading converged challenger in Italy, as all competent authorities approved the transaction," said Swisscom in a statement. Swisscom noted that Italy's Competition Authority cleared the merger on December 20, while MIMIT provided its approval to the deal a day earlier.

Vodafone confirmed on March 15, that it had agreed to sell its Italian unit to Swisscom, in a deal that will see Swisscom merge Vodafone with its Italian subsidiary Fastweb. The merger will combine 3.4 million Fastweb customers with Vodafone's 20 million, making it the second-biggest telco in Italy behind struggling Telecom Italia (TIM).